Renata's Carrot Soup
Carrots are such a wonderful source of Vit A (beta carotene) – so good for our eyes. They are also a good source of several B vitamins, as well as vitamin K, potassium and lutein which is also good for eye health and is an antioxidant. Carrots are a source of fiber and are low in fat. Cooking carrots in a soup retains all these amazing nutrients!
This lovely smooth, soothing, healthy carrot soup recipe was given to me by my dear friend Julia years ago. I have made some changes to it to make it vegetarian and a little spicy (added garlic, lemon and curry powder). Julia’s delicious recipe is at the bottom – give it a try too! What follows is my vegetarian/vegan version.
Prep time: 15 Minutes / Cook Time: 30 Minutes / Completion Time: 5 Minutes / Number of Servings: 8
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8-10 Carrots – scrubbed if organic, peeled if not – sliced
1 large yellow Cooking Onion – diced
3 cloves Garlic - sliced
3 tsp fresh Ginger – grated
1 tsp Curry Powder (optional but very tasty if you like curry!)
7 cups Vegetable Stock or Bouillon (I make my own veggie bouillon powder)
1 tsp Lemon Zest (see Tip here)
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (see Tip here)
½ cup Apple Cider or Orange Juice
Salt and Pepper – to taste
Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Hemp Hearts – for garnish
HOW IT’S MADE:
In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the carrots and onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring so the onion does not burn and the carrot softens slightly.
Stir in the garlic, grated ginger and curry powder (if using) and cook another 2 minutes – stirring to make sure the garlic and onions do not burn.
Add the vegetable broth/bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes until the carrots are soft.
With a hand-held immersion blender, puree the mixture in the pot until it is smooth. Alternately you can process the soup in a blender in small batches.
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and apple cider (or orange juice). Stir the soup.
Season with salt and pepper and adjust to your taste.
Serve in pretty bowls and garnish each with 1 tsp of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp hearts.
Enjoy!
Variations:
You can use ghee instead of olive oil.
If you want some texture to your smooth soup, add some cooked rice or quinoa to the soup once it is finished being blended, stir and simmer on a very low heat for 5 minutes to allow the rice/quinoa to warm up.
Julia’s original recipe – which is delicious:
1 Tbsp Butter
8 Carrots – sliced
1 medium Spanish onion – diced
2 tsp fresh Ginger – grated
4 cups Chicken Stock or Broth
½ tsp grated Orange Rind
½ cup Orange Juice
1 cup Cream or Milk (optional)
Salt and Pepper – to taste
Follow the instructions as above for my vegetarian version. Enjoy!